Popcorn for the Soul – When was your First Time

Greetings from Spain, where we have been for the past two weeks, to assist at the, by now, world famous Trainers’ Training!

What a privilege to be invited to spend two glorious weeks in the presence of the greatest minds of today in the field of NLP, NLP Modeling and NLP Patterning.

To witness our beloved mentors and teachers, dr. John Grinder, co-creator of NLP, and his partner Carmen Bostic St. Clair, weave their magic to entice and educate NLP enthusiasts from 23 countries :-)!

There is something to be said about this dynamic duo.

Their wisdom, their congruity, their ability to use language to evoke change! I’ve been in their presence many times before, and each time I speak to either of them, regardless of a topic, I get a fresh, unique, authentic, free from ‘by default’ answers. And every time, is like hearing them for the first time…

Which reminds me of a story, I wanted to share with you…

It happened for the first time

While here in Spain, getting ready to go to dinner and explore different parts of town, we got in the car, that decided to stop at a zebra crossing, outside a quaint church of St. Michael :-)! We didn’t think any of it, cars stop all the time, until we realized that it ran out of petrol…completely :-)! Granted, the petrol light was on, but it never occurred to us that there was no petrol at all in the car :-)!

It was fun! And it was the first time ever that I was in a car that ran out of petrol :-)! And it was probably a way the Universe was checking our sense of humour and state :-)! And it was a good metaphor on many levels ;-)!

So in the morning, I told John about our adventure with the petrolless car, and that the theme of the previous evening was all about experiencing something for the first time…He laughed and said: “It happens to me every 3rd minute of every day!’

And there it was…It struck me, that one of the secrets to this man’s charisma, his fresh, young approach to life, his ability to meet each moment afresh, as something truly new, rather than as another repetition of something previously experienced. The ability to perceive newness, to find difference in everything! And we learned NLP directly from him and were personally trained by him :-)!

You see, when John says something like this it is not just a left brain joke, but experiential reality and a food for thought!

And your first time?

And so my dear friends, inspired by John’s comment, I’d like to ask you, when was the last time you experienced something for the first time?

How did you feel, what was going though your mind, were you ready for it, or was it sudden, unexpected, where your state and resourcefulness were tested?

We tend to have our ‘first times’ early on in relationships, friendships, but as time passes by, many people get in the routine and turn on the ‘by default’ button, and forget to notice ‘first times’ :-)!

You see, sometimes we are presented with potentially rich experiences, and by allowing old behavioural patterns to take over, we miss the opportunity to learn, to grow.

And what better way to grow then learning about ourselves when presented with a new experience?! Noticing how we respond to new stimulus…

How do you find yourself?

On this note, of new stimulus, I have a question for you…Do you find yourself craving adventure, or do you avoid it like a plague? Would you rather go with the same old, or would you like new experiences? And given a choice, would you choose a Skoda, or would you go for a Ferrari :-)? Take your time to answer these questions…honestly :-)!

Life is all about new experiences, sometimes planned and expected, and often times unplanned and totally unexpected…And it is precisely in those unplanned, and unexpected moments that we grow, change, learn….

How many times in the past month did you say to yourself or in a conversation that you yearn for new, fresh experiences? How often do you find yourself wondering about wanting to learn something new? And how often do you expose yourself to situations that are totally new territory for you?

Exposing yourself only to the same stimuli, staying squarely within the zone of familiarity, breeds habituation of the senses. In other words, when there is no difference in experience, nothing happens, and stagnation ensues. And as the old adage says:

Thomas Björge – ITA NLP (International Trainers Academy of NLP) Accredited New Code and Classic Code NLP Trainer and Master Coach and Designer of New Code Game ‘Arrows’, to be featured in Dr. John Grinder’s upcoming book.

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Testimonials

This workshop reminded me not to forget that I’m alive. That the world is unpredictable and something beautiful can happen if we dive into it. To be happy, to hug more often, to laugh about myself and about life. I’m thrilled by how many beautiful feelings I have within me with out being aware of that, all I have to do is to close my eyes and listen.